Samsung Electronics, a leading maker of various equipment, has quietly started to sell its BD-P1400 Blu-ray disc (BD) player for $299 in certain locations. The decision moves Blu-ray format into the same price range as HD DVD players from Toshiba that support 1080p output and may pose a serious threat to the standard pushed by Microsoft and Toshiba.

At press time Amazon.com, Best Buy, Circuit City and Costco offered Samsung BD-P1400 players for $299, which is tangibly below the official manufacturer suggested retail price of $499 for the device, reports HighDefDigest web-site. Unfortunately, it is still not completely clear whether the price slash is temporary, or end-users will be able to get the BD-P1400 for $299 going forward too.